Section 2 – Governance

Added: 10/04/2013
Revised: 07/08/2015
Last Reviewed: 07/31/2018
Effective: 08/07/2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

Middle Georgia State University (MGA) operates under the State of Georgia constitutional authority granted to the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia.

Institutional Governance

Board of Regents Policy, authorized as described below, concerning institutional governance is found in Section 2.0: Institutional Governance of the Board of Regents Policy Manual.

BOR Section 2.0 establishes policy for:

  • Election of Presidents by the Board
  • Procedure for Selection of a President for USG Institutions
  • Performance Assessment of Presidents
  • Presidential Transitions
  • Presidential Authority and Responsibilities
  • Presidents’ Meetings
  • Organization Structure and Changes
  • Compensation of Presidents
  • Institutional Effectiveness: Planning and Assessment
  • Institutional Mission

Article VI of the MGA Statutes prescribes institutional governance through an Academic Assembly, Faculty Senate, Ad Hoc Committees, Administrative Council, and Student Government Association as well as Decision Making and Policy Formulation. Section 3 of the MGA Faculty Handbook contains information related to Faculty Governance.

These documents, along with bylaws for a new University Staff Council currently under development, will be reviewed and amended as necessary as early as possible in Fall 2015 and posted in the Shared Governance Documents area of the MGA website.

Authority of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia

By an Act signed by Governor Richard B. Russell to be effective on January 1, 1932, the General Assembly established the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia with responsibility for “the government, control, and management” of State supported colleges and universities. The Board of Regents became a Constitutional Board when this plan for the governance of higher education was incorporated into the Constitution of Georgia in 1943.

The Board of Regents executes its Constitutional responsibilities in two primary ways:

  • By adopting policies to provide general guidelines for governing the University System; and
  • By electing a Chancellor of the System and, under his supervision, Presidents of the institutions who are given responsibility and authority for administration of the System in accord with the adopted policies.

Charter

The charter of the Board of Regents consists of the original charter of the Trustees of the University of Georgia as approved in the Act of the General Assembly of the State of Georgia on January 27, 1785, and modified by a subsequent Act of the General Assembly in 1931 as follows:

Be it further enacted by the Authority aforesaid, that there is hereby set up and constituted a department of the State Government of Georgia, to be known as the `Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia.’ The name of the corporation heretofore established and existing under the name and style, `Trustees of the University of Georgia’ be and the same is hereby changed to `Regents of the University System of Georgia.’ (Article 20-31, Acts 1931)

Name

The official name of the Board of Regents under its Constitutional charter is “Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia.”

Constitutional Provisions

“There shall be a Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia which shall consist of one member from each congressional district in the state and five additional members from the state at large, appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate. The Governor shall not be a member of said Board. The members in office on June 30, 1983, shall serve out the remainder of their respective terms. As each term of office expires, the Governor shall appoint a successor as herein provided. All such terms of members shall be for seven years. Members shall serve until their successors are appointed and qualified. In the event of a vacancy on the Board by death, resignation, removal, or any reason other than the expiration of a member’s term, the Governor shall fill such vacancy; and the person so appointed shall serve until confirmed by the Senate and, upon confirmation, shall serve for the unexpired term of office.”

“The Board of Regents shall have the exclusive authority to create new public colleges, junior colleges, and universities in the State of Georgia, subject to approval by majority vote in the House of Representatives and the Senate. Such votes shall not be required to change the status of a college, institution or university existing on the effective date of this Constitution. The government, control, and management of the University System of Georgia and all of the institutions in said system shall be vested in the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia.”

“All appropriations made for any or all institutions in the University System shall be paid to the Board of Regents in a lump sum, with the power and authority in said board to allocate and distribute the same among the institutions under its control in such way and manner and in such amounts as will further an efficient and economical administration of the University System.”

“The Board of Regents may hold, purchase, lease, sell, convey, or otherwise dispose of public property, execute conveyances thereon, and use the proceeds arising from that; may exercise the power of eminent domain in the manner provided by law; and shall have such other powers and duties as provided by law.”

“The Board of Regents may accept bequests, donations, grants, and transfers of land, buildings, and other property for the University System of Georgia.”

“The qualifications, compensation, and removal from office of the members of the Board of Regents shall be as provided by law.” (Constitution of Georgia 1982, Article VIII, Section IV)

Powers of the Board of Regents

“The Board of Regents shall have power: (1) to make such reasonable rules and regulations as are necessary for the performance of its duties; (2) to elect or appoint professors, educators, stewards, or any other officers necessary for all of the schools in the University System, as may be authorized by the General Assembly, to discontinue or remove them as the good of the System or any of its schools or institutions may require, and to fix their compensations; (3) to establish all such schools of learning or art as may be useful to the State, and to organize the same in the way most likely to attain the ends desired; (4) to exercise any power usually granted to such corporation, necessary to its usefulness, which is not in conflict with the Constitution and laws of this State.” (Acts 1931, pp. 7, 24)

“The Board of Regents shall have such other and further powers and duties as may now or hereafter be provided by law or the State Constitution.”